


cigarettes on patios

by agaytoremembr



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: F/M, Lip is a dumbass, i just want them to be happy but also I like writing them yelling at each other, theyre both angry and valid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:27:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25898938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agaytoremembr/pseuds/agaytoremembr
Summary: What happened after the camera cut away from Lip and Tami in that last episode.S10 spoilers!
Relationships: Lip Gallagher/Tami Tamietti
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	cigarettes on patios

**Author's Note:**

> coda for the last episode of s10. Honestly don’t believe tami would change her mind after just seeing Lip drunk at Brad’s doorstep, tbh, and ran with this idea.

Brad disappears through a doorway to get dressed, presumably, and Lip uses the absence to pull out a cigarette and light it with shaky fingers. 

As he goes to take a drag, he sees her. Tami, standing in the doorway, looking at him with those fucking  _ eyes _ , and looking so fucking… soft. For him. She goes to open her mouth and Lip swears if she tries to pity him, he will fucking break down. He can’t take pity kindness, not from her.

She must sense this, because what comes out of her mouth is nothing less than her usual biting remark, and Lip feels like he can fucking breathe again, even as the barb hits home. “Worried about your sobriety in Milwaukee, huh? Doesn’t look like being in Chicago means a fucking thing for that.”

If her voice trembles the slightest bit, well, Lip won’t mention it if she won’t.

He glares, the few drinks he had affecting him more than he thought they would. “Fuck you, Tami. What the fuck did you expect? You get me fucking fired, then tell me you’re moving and taking our fucking son!” 

Tami’s eyes narrow and Lip’s body hums with expectation of the oncoming fight. 

She steps onto the stoop, shoving Lip’s chest, hard. “You are not going to fucking blame me for trying to make our lives better,” she hisses. “Not when you did what you fucking did. You  _ know _ my dad’s tried to control my whole fucking life, you know how bad people making  _ my fucking decisions _ fucks with me, and you did it anyway. Because nobody‘s feelings matters more than Lip Gallagher’s!”

Lip ignores the (truthful) shot at him. “What the fuck do you want from me, Tami? I told you, I can’t fucking move to a place where we know  _ no one _ . I’m a fucking alcoholic, my support system is  _ here _ .” He rakes his fingers through his hair, his voice softening. “You weren’t fucking there, you… I become Frank, Tam. And if I leave with you, I’m going to become Frank and I won’t fucking do that to Fred. Not our kid.”

Tami’s expression hardens. “Then you’ve made your choice.”

Lip barks out a laugh. If only it were that goddamn simple. “So you want me to be Monica for our kid? There whenever it pleases me?”

Tami rolls her eyes, scowling. “You say that like those two are the only people you could be. Newsflash: Monica and Frank aren’t the be-all-end-all of fucking parenting!”

Lip can’t argue with that. Instead, he sighs, taking a deep drag off his cigarette. “I don’t want you two so far away from me. I don’t want you to leave,” he says quietly, staring at the concrete. 

Tami’s voice is almost pleading. “Then just come with us, Lip.  _ We _ can be your support system. We can get out of that house and out of the Gallagher vortex of crazy. We can be free, just you, me, and Fred.”

Lip wants so badly to just agree, to just trust in how much he loves her and their son, but wasn’t that what he had been doing before? And looked how that worked out. He sighs heavily. “Is it so bad that I want all my family in one place?”

“Fucking  _ Gallaghers _ ,” Tami spits, gesturing angrily. “You all want to live on top of each other, crowded in so packed you can’t tell one from the other, and it makes you fucking  _ happy _ .” She shakes her head, lip curling back in a sneer. “Well I have news for you, in case you’ve forgotten: I’m not a fucking Gallagher! Maybe being packed like sardines is what you like, but not me. I can’t fucking breathe, Lip.” Her voice breaks, no matter how she tries to cover it up. “I feel like I’m being smothered by your fucking family. We need-  _ I _ need out. And the RV just isn’t enough.”

Lip scrubs his palm over his face. “I can’t just leave them, Tami. You don’t understand-”

Tami scoffs. “Grow up, Lip. The Gallaghers aren’t the only ones who had bad childhoods.”

“You really wanna do this?” Lip hisses, stubbing out his cigarette and stepping close into Tami’s space. “Your mom died, and that fuckin’  _ sucks _ . But Monica? She left us on  _ purpose _ . More times than I can fuckin’ count, and she only came back when she needed something. She’d get all our hopes up, saying she missed us, and it’ll all be different this time- all sorts of bullshit promises, but we were  _ kids _ , we wanted our mom. 

“So we fell for it, every damn time, hook, line, and sinker. But every time, she would disappear again, usually with all our bill money.” He shrugs casually, in deep contrast to the rage on his face. “So yeah. Your mom died and that’s shit. But at least you know that if she’d had a fuckin’ choice, she’d still be right here with you. Us Gallaghers? We don’t have that luxury.”

Tami looks near tears, and Lip knows this is more of his history than he’s ever told her before, but he can’t… he can’t. So he ploughs on.

“You keep talkin’ about aimin’ higher, for Fred? But I’ve been doing that since I fuckin’ brought him  _ home _ . Because our son? He will  _ never _ have parents who leave him on purpose. He will never wonder if he’s loved. He won’t be six years old trying to get money for his share of the bills, because he can’t rely on his parents to keep the lights or heat or water on, or to get him food when he’s hungry.” Lip can feel himself trembling with the utter fucking  _ rage _ that always comes along with really talking about his childhood, and he’s not oblivious enough to not see the fear on Tami’s face. He steps back, sighing. “Maybe those were always guarantees for you, Tami, but for the Gallaghers… food, water, heat, electricity…  _ love _ . That was never something we could rely on our parents for. We had Fiona.” Lip can’t help the bitterness in his voice. “And then Fiona pulled a Monica and decided we weren’t her goddamn problem anymore. Then she up and splits, making that parent number three who just fucking  _ leaves _ .” He takes a deep breath. “I can’t be another person who fuckin’ leaves them, Tami.”

They stare at each other, Lip’s red-rimmed eyes meeting Tami’s teary, steely gaze. A baby’s cry breaks through the air, followed by another, higher pitched one. 

Tami looks away first, furiously rubbing the tears from her eyes. “I- I have to get Fred,” she says shakily, still not looking at him.

Lip nods, for lack of anything better to say, and once again watches her walk away from him. 

Brad returns a few minutes later, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Lip doesn’t ask how much he heard. “Meeting?” He raises an eyebrow, and Brad nods gratefully.

“Let’s go.”

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Comments add years to my life, please help me become immortal 😁


End file.
